


Will Be There Still

by Verasteine



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Domestic, Fluff, M/M, Missing Scene, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-05-12
Updated: 2008-05-12
Packaged: 2017-10-07 09:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verasteine/pseuds/Verasteine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Small scenes tracking Ianto and Jack's relationship through season 2, one scene per episode. Ianto's POV, fluffy for the most part. Illustrating each scene is a quotation from that episode.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Will Be There Still

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics at the top and providing the title by Dido, from her song, "White Flag".

> _And when we meet, which I’m sure we will  
> All that was there, will be there still  
> I’ll let it pass, and hold my tongue  
> And you will think, that I’ve moved on_

I was thinking, while I was away...

It felt like his world had been turned on to its side. Ianto watched from the passenger seat of the SUV as Cardiff's familiar landscape slid by, noting with some interest that Jack's driving style hadn't changed. He wasn't sure at this point what he felt, how he felt, about Jack's return, the sudden appearance just hours before, while he was facing down a blowfish who had stolen a sports car. There was no time, had been no time, to examine his emotions in detail before they were off on yet another hunt after aliens. It didn't help that he'd been paired with Jack, who was sitting in the driver's seat, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and generally willing Cardiff's late night traffic out of his way. Abruptly Ianto turned to face Jack, looking at the Captain in profile. Nothing seemed different about him, yet everything seemed different about him, but it was Jack, and that meant that was nothing unusual.

"Like what you see?" Jack said suddenly, breaking into his thoughts and shooting him a lascivious grin.

Ianto was only ever so slightly taken aback, huffing faintly at the innuendo. "That's beside the point," he said with some sarcasm.

" 'Beside the point?' " Jack quoted back at him, one eyebrow raised in surprise.

Ianto bristled. "You know what I mean."

Jack shrugged, weaving out of traffic in a erratic manner that had Ianto grabbing hold of the dashboard, avoiding a slowing truck. "Ianto," Jack started, a different tone to his voice.

Ianto didn't want to hear it, whatever Jack had to say, not yet. Quickly he said, "Turn right here."

He sensed Jack shot him a glance, although he studiously trained his eyes on the windshield.

"I haven't been away from Cardiff that long, you know," Jack replied, his tone betraying something that sounded suspiciously like hurt.

"I don't know how long you've been away," Ianto shot back, then instantly regretted the comment. "Sorry, shouldn't have said that."

Jack was again, appearing to concentrate on his driving, although Ianto wasn't sure that was actually what he was doing. Then Jack said, "I know you have questions."

Again, Ianto interrupted. "You don't have to explain anything, not yet. Let's just get this over with first."

"Okay," Jack replied, with some surprise. Abruptly, he brought the SUV to a skidding halt. "We're here, anyway."

Ianto unbuckled his seatbelt, looking briefly at Jack before he got out of the car. "We'll talk some more later."

Jack opened the driver's side door, meeting Ianto’s eyes over his shoulder. "Yeah, we will."

\--

Shivers down my spine…

It hit him abruptly when he saw Jack put on a clean shirt. He’d died again, and he was as cavalier about it now as he had been before he left. Ianto was still none the wiser as to what had happened to Jack, to where Jack had been or whether he'd found his answers.

Jack caught him looking, and turned away, apparently not wanting to deal with whatever was standing between them. It made Ianto angry, and he watched as Jack disappeared into the bowels of the hub. He followed on impulse, wanting... He wasn't sure what he wanted.

"It's nothing, Ianto," Jack said, when he caught up with him in the archives.

"I didn't say there was anything," Ianto shot back, annoyed at Jack’s ability to read him so well.

"Then why are you here?" Jack replied, looking straight at him.

Ianto shifted slightly, but held his ground under Jack’s gaze. "I wanted- " He broke off. He knew he wasn't going to come up with anything Jack wouldn't see right through. He didn't know what he wanted from Jack. They weren't together, but they weren't apart either, somehow left in limbo, and Ianto knew it was his own doing. Yet he couldn’t figure out whether he wanted to go back to where they’d been, whether he wanted Jack back, or whether he wanted to get out of it, and how to get out of whatever it was.

Jack took a step closer to him. "What _is it_ you want?" he said, a small smile gracing his lips.

Ianto didn't want to back up against the wall he knew was just behind him, to let Jack see he was getting to him, and so continued to hold his ground, even if he knew that meant the decision of what to do was soon going to be made for him, if he didn't put a stop to what Jack was doing quickly.

Jack took another step closer. "Well?" he said, a more playful tone to his voice.

Ianto stayed where he was, not moving, not giving any ground. He watched as Jack approached him as if stalking prey, and let it happen. Jack came so close they were nearly touching. He leaned in and Ianto bowed to the inevitable and let it happen. He hadn't kissed Jack since… since, well, since Abaddon, probably. He remembered what it was like, though. He remembered-

Beth's voice rang out through the hub, and the moment was shattered.

\--

I… know you get lonely…

They lay together in Jack’s narrow bed, waiting for the morning when they’d have to send Tommy back to 1918. Ianto realised how much he’d missed Jack, how much he’d missed just being together, and how uncomplicated things were when he was under the covers next to Jack’s warm body. He also remembered why it had taken him so long to come back to this.

“Jack?”

Jack’s fingers, running idle patterns over his right arm, stilled. “Hmm?”

“Where were you?”

The query didn’t require further explanation. They both knew what he was talking about. Jack shifted slightly, his muscles tensing just a fraction under the blankets. His face was unreadable as ever. His voice, however, betrayed slight emotion when he spoke, a beat too late. “I can’t tell you.” Ianto nearly snorted at that, but the tone to Jack’s voice held him back. A moment later, Jack added, “Not yet. Maybe some day.”

There was a world of unspoken hurt in the sound of Jack’s voice, in the choice of his words, and in the sudden stiffness of his posture. Ianto wanted to reach out, offer some kind of comfort for something that he didn’t even know what it was, and felt woefully inadequate. Something had happened, he knew that. He’d know that since the first night after Jack was back, when he’d sat in his apartment and had analysed the events of the day. Jack’s strange behaviour, his eagerness that was a little _too_ eager, even for Jack, who usually prided himself on subtlety when needed. He’d wondered, then, if he should have, could have, reacted differently, but his own emotions had been strong enough to know he couldn’t just surrender back into Jack’s arms without some serious thought. Still…

“When you’re ready,” he said now, meaning it. The other members of the team had never understood the need not to press, where Jack was concerned. Ianto understood, if only because the same kind of prying questions had often been directed at him, and he’d been just as reticent to answer them before he was ready. Giving strangers access to your life meant exposing yourself to risk, and you needed to be able to trust someone before doing that. He trusted Jack. Knew that Jack trusted him. Which meant Jack just wasn’t ready.

Jack leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, smoothing back his sticky hair. Ianto closed his eyes, feeling exhaustion beginning to set in. Here, with Jack’s arm stretched over his chest, in the warm nest of blankets, he could relax, and let sleep claim him.

\--

Hell of a day…

It made it all the harder, the next week, to go home alone. Yet he was angry enough to do it, after what had happened. He also knew that his anger wasn’t fair, wasn’t something that he could or should burden Jack with. He’d never asked for anything, Jack sure as hell had never offered. Plus, the events of the day had been emotional, nearly getting shot and getting taken hostage was sufficiently shocking to process on your own without throwing a new jealousy into the mix.

The phone call, as he was drifting off, made him search across the floor for his jacket that he, for once, had left lying where it had landed when he took it off. He extracted his mobile, and looked at the display. Jack.

“Yes?”

A beat of silence, then Jack said, “Ianto.”

“Yep,” he replied stoically, unable to keep the emotion from his voice. “Do I need to come in?”

“No,” Jack said. “I was just calling…”

Ianto sat up in bed. A social call? Hardly normal behaviour for Jack. “Yes?” he inquired.

Another beat of silence, Jack taking a deep breath. “Are we okay, Ianto?”

Honest question, deserved an honest answer. Ianto thought for a moment, swallowing his initial sarcastic reply of ‘what do you think?’. “Yes, we are,” he replied. “Jack… It is what it is. We’re fine.”

“Okay.” Jack’s answer was tentative, but assured. “Don’t suppose I could tempt you-”

“No, Jack,” Ianto said firmly. “Good night.” He ended the call and smiled into the dark of his bedroom, and put the phone carefully on the nightstand before going back to sleep.

\--

Hey, hey. Come here. Come here…

He woke up shivering, a scream lodged in his throat, the urge to cry close to overwhelming him. A few deep breaths calmed him enough to sit up and untangle his legs from the blankets. A couple of breaths more, and he called tentatively, “Jack?”

“Up here,” Jack’s voice drifted back through the open hatch.

Ianto fumbled around in the dark for his boxers and shirt, put them on and clambered through the hatch into Jack’s office. Jack was sitting at his desk, looking at the CCTV logs.

“Same result either way I try this,” he said to Ianto. “I apparently erased the last forty-eight hours and ret-conned us all.”

Ianto shrugged. “Maybe we should leave it be, then.”

“Yeah.” Jack looked at him. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Nightmare,” Ianto replied. He didn’t hide much of himself from Jack anymore, and certainly not the things that mattered. Part of his new philosophy of take what you can get, started since he and Jack got back together.

Jack’s eyes were searching his face and he stood up. Ianto went over to him, stepping into his embrace. Letting out a deep breath, he relaxed against Jack’s warmth, Jack’s hand sliding into his neck, fingers caressing his hair. “Let’s get back to bed,” he said softly, a hint of suggestion in his voice.

Ianto smiled in spite of himself. He stepped back and went back to the hatch, climbing down without another word. Jack followed him with a grin.

\--

We dabble…

He made them all coffee, because that was what he did. He handed Martha her cup, and she looked at him, searching his face. “Are you okay, Ianto?”

He’d only just met her, but he instinctively liked her. He gave her a brief smile that he knew didn’t reach his eyes, and replied, “Holding up for now.”

She knew what he didn’t say, he could see the understanding in her face. _We’ll crash later, when this is all over._ _Not now. _She put a hand on his arm. “Thanks for the coffee.”

He nodded, giving her another smile because he didn’t have any words right now that wouldn’t sound hollow. He turned away, looking for Gwen to give her the tea she’d asked for, but Martha called him back. “Ianto?”

He turned back.

“Maybe I’m out of line here…” She bit her lip. “But Jack’s been in his office since we came back… I thought maybe you could- because you two- well, could see if he’s all right?”

He gave her another smile, a real one this time. “That’s fine, Martha. I’m taking up his coffee in a minute.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

He went to Gwen next, handing her the tea. She gave him a hollow look, her eyes red-rimmed. He remembered her affair with Owen the previous year, and felt a stab of pity for her. He put a hand on her shoulder and she leaned her head against his arm for a moment. “Thanks, Ianto,” she said softly, wrapping her hands around the hot mug.

He squeezed her shoulder before moving to the stairs, Jack’s blue and white mug in his hand. Jack was sitting at his desk, staring at Owen’s personnel file open on his desk, but not reading anything. Ianto went in and placed the mug on Jack’s desk, within his reach. Jack took it automatically, taking a sip of the coffee without even checking the contents first. The taste of the beverage seemed to bring him back from where his mind had been. “Thank you, Ianto.”

Ianto stood by the desk for a moment before finding the right words. “Is there anything I can do, Jack?”

Jack shook his head. “Nothing that can be done.”

They were both silent for a beat. Then Ianto said, “I’m here, if you need anything.”

Jack nodded. Ianto retreated without another word.

\--

I keep getting redirected…

Ianto settled his head on Jack’s chest, just below his lover’s chin, the place he’d claimed for himself ever since Jack had come back. Jack’s arm came around him, and Ianto allowed himself a measure of indulgence and snuggled, ever so slightly. He heard and felt Jack’s amused chuckle at that.

“Hmmph,” Ianto murmured.

“That’s not what you said a minute ago,” Jack said with a grin. Ianto could hear the grin, though he couldn’t see it.

They were both silent for a while. After a few minutes, Ianto lifted his head to locate and pull up the blankets. Jack shifted slightly, then said, “Do you think he’s okay?”

Ianto shrugged with one shoulder. “I don’t know.”

“We’ll have to keep an eye on him.”

“Yes.” Ianto was silent, feeling Jack tense against him. After a moment, he added, “You did the right thing.”

“Sure?” Jack replied, with a measure of self-incrimination. “What I did-”

“You did the right thing,” Ianto repeated more insistently, lifting his head to look Jack in the eye. “We lost Owen, you brought him back.”

Jack nodded slowly, as if to assure himself. “Okay.”

Ianto lay back down, feeling around under the sheets until he found Jack’s hand. Squeezing it slightly, he was pleasantly surprised when Jack linked their fingers together. Like that, he drifted off to sleep.

\--

It isn’t like that, me and Jack…

_"It isn't like that, me and Jack." _

He'd said it because Owen's accusation had stung. But at the same time, as he said it, he wasn't sure what it meant. It wasn't like _that_, but what was it? It hadn't bothered him before, and it was only in odd, weak moments that it bothered him at all, but sometimes, he needed to know.

Owen had left a while ago, secretly taking a new artefact with him, even though he thought Ianto hadn't noticed. There wasn't much, though, that happened around the hub that Ianto didn't notice. He was nearly done with the night's cleaning, and couldn't decide whether to go up to Jack's office, or to go home to his flat. Owen's comments shouldn't have bothered him this much. He knew that, but lately, in the last couple of weeks, things had been changing. He wasn't sure if things had really changed between himself and Jack, or whether it was his own perception of it that had changed, his own view of their relationship. Last year, whatever it had been, it had been important to him, but it hadn't been critical. Now, it was something that he needed, a lifeline of sorts, a longing to be close to Jack.

"Ianto."

Lost in thought, he hadn't heard Jack come out of his office. He looked up to find Jack standing on the walkway, leaning on his hands on the railing. "Nearly finished, Jack," he replied automatically.

"Wanna come up?" Jack asked, an edge to his voice that Ianto knew all too well.

He looked up at Jack, testing his own resolve. What did it matter what they called it, if they called it anything at all? He had Jack in his life, which for now would be sufficient. What tomorrow will bring, they couldn't know. He dropped the rubbish bags at his feet, thinking he could finish in the morning. He made his way around the desks and walked up the stairs towards Jack.

Jack raised his eyebrows at this uncharacteristic behaviour. "Can't resist?" he asked playfully.

Ianto shrugged, arriving at the top of the stairs. "Sometimes being a good employee is all about prioritising," he replied with a smile.

Jack grinned. "Oh really?"

Ianto put a hand on Jack's shoulder and pulled him slowly closer. "Shut up," he said in a low voice, silencing both Jack and his mind.

\--

The problem seems to be an American with no sense of timing or fashion…

Gwen was on her honeymoon, and Jack couldn't shut up about her. The wedding had been eventful to say the least, but now that it was over, Gwen, through no fault of her own, was the last person Ianto wanted to see for a while. _It is what it is,_ he'd said to Jack, when he'd asked not so long ago. But -- that was then, and this was now. And imperceptibly, over the last month, things had changed for Ianto. He still refused to lay a claim to Jack, because he knew that such a relationship would be impossible, and would make him lose Jack. Yet he wanted something, something tangible, something that would be a sign that he meant more to Jack then -- what was the word Owen'd used? A part-time shag.

So it didn't help, when, only a day later, all Jack seemed to be able to talk about was the wedding, and Gwen. Ianto still felt slightly hung-over from the late night of ret-conning people and telling them cover stories that had started to sound increasingly unconvincing to his ears, and his tolerance was wearing thin.

Uncharacteristically, it was Toshiko who made him snap.

The request had been innocent enough. Something about an artefact in the bowels of the hub, something she wanted from the archives she could reach herself, but it would be easier to get him to do it because he knew the place so well. Perhaps it had been that Owen had asked for coffee five times already that day, it certainly hadn't helped that Jack had managed to engage him in conversation about the wedding, or Gwen, every one of those five times that he’d also gone up to serve Jack his coffee. Nonetheless, Toshiko's request made him snap.

"Do I look like I only fetch and carry around here?" he said to her, raising his voice. "You people think that’s all I’m good for? ‘We'll let Ianto get it’," he parroted, "’he has nothing better to do’. I'm _busy_," he almost yelled. "I have things _to do_!"

Owen surfaced from the autopsy bay, looking startled to hear Ianto shout. Toshiko looked at Owen, and then back at Ianto, like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

Ianto looked from one to the other. "Well?" he inquired sarcastically.

"Ianto, mate," Owen started carefully.

Ianto rounded on him, opening his mouth to give Owen a piece of his mind. That was when he heard footsteps on the stairs, cautious footsteps, Jack making his way down into the centre of the hub. Ianto didn't need to turn around to see the look of bewilderment on Jack's face.

"Ianto?" Jack said tentatively.

Ianto turned on him, staring him down. "You!" he spat angrily. "You're worst of all!"

Jack held up his hands as if in defence, pausing halfway down the stairs and looking slightly shocked. "Ianto," Jack started again, his tone cautious as well.

Ianto's eyes flashed, and he opened his mouth to give Jack a piece of his mind, too.

Owen interrupted before they could really get out of hand. "Oy, you need to get some sleep," he said. Ianto was ready to turn on Owen again, but Toshiko took the wind out of his sails by saying, "Ianto," in small voice, "maybe he's right."

He stared from one to the other, trying to come up with a good reason why they were wrong. Tosh got up from her seat, taking his arm and tugging him along. "Come on," she said quietly, glancing at Jack and Owen, who mercifully stayed where they were. "You should lie down a moment."

Ianto let himself be led to the sofa, trying not to feel as if the conversation had suddenly got away from him. Yesterday, was it only yesterday?, he'd danced with Jack, in public, so out of character for him that he'd even surprised himself, but it had been necessary, because he couldn't let happen what had been happening. He couldn't let Jack dance with Gwen, for the world to see, on her wedding day, and know that whatever it was that was passing between them was more than just friendship. He'd broken it up for that reason, and now he was yelling at his co-workers over what in essence had been an innocent enough request. Maybe getting a little rest wasn't such a bad idea. He let Toshiko lead him to the sofa, not looking at either Jack or Owen again.

\--

Where's Ianto? He'd know…

Jack found him when he was on his way out of the hub. Everything was finished, the reels of film destroyed, the flask filed in the archives. There was no reason for Ianto to stay and the events of the day had left him feeling empty, in spite of the fact that they managed to save one life.

"Are you leaving?"

Ianto stopped and turned, two steps away from the rolling cog door. He looked at Jack standing in the middle of the hub, and said, "I'm on my way out, yes."

Jack looked hesitant. "I thought you might want to stay a while."

That was an uncharacteristically demure way for Jack to put it, Ianto thought. He said, "No need."

Now Jack looked hurt. He masked it well, smoothing his features before the emotion could reach his eyes. "Are you alright, Ianto?" he asked, his voice candid.

"I'm fine," Ianto insisted, feeling that he would be, soon.

Jack crossed the floor of the hub, coming towards him. He drew level with Ianto at the door, putting a hand on his shoulder. For a moment, it looked like he would speak. Then he didn't, leaning in and kissing Ianto insistently.

Ianto responded without thinking, as he was prone to do these days. He slid into Jack's embrace, bringing his own arms around Jack's body and stepping closer. After a full minute, they came apart.

"Jack, if you want me to stay, you could just ask."

Jack smiled indulgently. "I'm not asking," he said. Surprising Ianto, he continued, "If you _want_ to stay, you're welcome to it. I was just making sure you were okay."

"I'm all right," Ianto replied, his resolve faltering slightly. "I will be."

"‘Will be’ is not the same as ‘all right’, Ianto," Jack said gently. "And it's okay to be upset about today."

Ianto wasn't sure what to reply. In fact, he all of a sudden wasn't sure he could trust his voice if he spoke, so instead he did what he was doing more and more these days; he went with his gut instinct and against his better judgement, stepping closer to Jack so their bodies were touching, and laying his head on Jack's shoulder, feeling Jack's arms come around him. Sheltered in the embrace, he breathed deeply, willing the events of the day far from his mind.

"It will be okay, Ianto," Jack said, close to his ear.

After a moment, Ianto stepped back, self-conscious, and Jack let him go reluctantly. "I know it will be okay. All we ever do is make it okay."

"Ianto," Jack said, almost melancholy.

"It is what it is, Jack," Ianto replied, suddenly reminded of the last time he’d spoken those words.

Jack's eyes flashed for a brief moment, revealing that he'd thought of the same memory. "We're not like that."

Whatever was going on, they couldn't be having that conversation tonight. Ianto could neither stay at the hub nor go home with that conversation taking place, and be comfortable tonight. Instead, he did the only thing he knew was guaranteed to distract Jack. He stepped closer, back into Jack's embrace, kissing him, hard, ignoring all the things that were left unsaid between them.

\--

I'll talk with him…

"Coming back in? Work to do!"

"Yep." What else would he do? It was no contest; he wanted to be with Jack, and Gwen interrupting them didn't change that. He turned back to the hothouse, but stopped by the door. Looking back at Gwen, he said, making a final decision, "There's a package for you, on your desk." She looked at him suspiciously, but didn’t say anything, instead she turned and headed back down. He pushed the door to the hothouse open and went back inside. Jack had taken his shirt off again, Ianto let his eyes roam freely over Jack's chest. They had unfinished business.

Jack grinned at his look. "Now, where were we?"

The memory of Gwen interrupting them still fresh in his mind, Ianto blushed slightly. Jack's grin widened when he noticed. "Don't go shy on me, Ianto."

He came over to Ianto, who was still standing by the door, grabbed hold of his shirt and yanked him close. "Too many clothes," he muttered in a low voice.

A moment later, Ianto's mouth was crushed in a plundering kiss. He gave back as good as he got, sliding his hands into Jack's neck and moving closer. Jack was impatiently yanking his dress shirt out of his slacks, and fearing for the shirt, Ianto allowed a measure of space between them again for Jack to unbutton the shirt. Somewhere in the distance, he heard the door alarm blaring. Gwen was leaving, but he didn't want to think about her right now. What he'd just done would not put him on Jack's good side, but he'd had no choice.

"Ianto," Jack snapped commandingly, suggesting he'd said Ianto's name once before.

"Huh?" Ianto replied ineloquently, distracted by the way Jack's fingers were tugging at his belt.

"Pay attention," Jack ordered. "Unless," he added with a grin, "you're still thinking about Gwen."

That was closer to the truth than Jack would know, but Ianto wasn’t going there. Jack was insufferable enough already. "Thank you, but no."

Jack started kissing his neck, his mouth too busy to reply for the moment. Ianto felt rather than heard him laugh at his answer. Jack kissed his way up Ianto’s jaw line and Ianto intercepted him for another searing kiss. Jack pulled away long enough to reply, "Well, if you're not thinking about Gwen, then you better be thinking about me. And what I'm going to be doing to you."

Ianto shuddered, the comment evoking all kinds of images in his head.

Jack grinned predatorily, feeling Ianto’s physical reaction, and undid Ianto's belt with a swift motion. "I'm going to keep you up tonight," he said, his eyes fixed on Ianto’s, gauging his reaction. "I'm going to make you forget your own name."

Ianto focused on breathing deeply, trying not forget his own name already in anticipation. Right now, of all the places in the world, where else would he want to be but in Jack’s bed?

\--

Jones. Ianto Jones.

"Stay."

Jack's arm came around his waist, pulling Ianto back down to the bed, and Jack shifted closer behind him. Ianto resisted, saying, "I've got to get up. I have to feed Myfanwy."

"Stay," Jack repeated, pressing a kiss to the back of Ianto's neck.

For a moment, Ianto stopped resisting, letting Jack kiss him and enjoying the contact. Lately, these were his favourite moments of the day, waking up in Jack's bed, early in the morning when the hub was still quiet, sharing time with Jack before the others came in. Jack's hand was sliding down to his hip, and Ianto stopped it before things got out of hand. Jack made a small sound of protest, licking a spot just below Ianto's left ear that he knew drove Ianto wild.

"Stop it, Jack. You don't want an irate pterodactyl on your hands," Ianto reminded him.

"If I recall correctly, she can be placated with chocolate," Jack said.

"And if I remember correctly, she took you for a spin afterward, so I'm not sure how placatable she is." Ianto sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Behind him, he felt the bed move as Jack sat up as well, a hand on his back.

"Come back to bed when you're done," Jack said, not asking.

Ianto felt a shiver of anticipation crawl up his spine, as he always did when Jack used that tone of voice. "I'll be right back. Do you want coffee?"

"Always. I never forget the first taste of your coffee."

Ianto look over his shoulder at Jack, half sitting up on the bed. "I was trying to seduce you into hiring me, " he said, remembering, smiling slightly.

Jack smiled his hundred-watt smile back. "You didn't do your homework. You would have known that seducing me with coffee wasn't the best way to go."

Ianto laughed. "It didn't matter. You hired me in the end."

"Never regretted it," Jack said, his blue eyes trained on Ianto's face, the tone of his voice signalling he was serious. Ianto smiled again, this time tinged with a little sadness. Jack sat up fully, saying, "Ianto..."

Ianto quickly reassured him. "I'm fine with things, Jack. What happened is done. I want to live in the here and now."

"Good," Jack replied, sliding a hand into Ianto's neck and leaning in for a kiss. For a moment, Ianto let go of all thoughts of feeding Myfanwy and starting the morning routine of the hub, and indulged. In Torchwood, you had to take what you could get sometimes, because you never knew when you would get another one of these stolen moments. The universe promptly affirmed the truthfulness of that thought, as above them in the hub, an alarm began to blare. With a curse, Jack let go, swinging his legs out of bed and grabbing some clothes of the floor before climbing up the ladder into his office. Ianto dressed more sedately, following close behind.

"Alien life forms," Jack said, looking up from his computer. "An abandoned factory, not far out of town."

"Anything we can handle ourselves?" Ianto asked.

Jack shook his head, meeting Ianto's eyes over the desk, professional mask back in place. "No, better call the others in."

Ianto nodded, moving toward the hub. Jack called him back. "Better put some clothes on first, Ianto."

Ianto looked down at the boxers and T-shirt that he'd thrown on in the spur of the moment. He blushed slightly, and smiled, a small, private smile. "Yep."

\--

_finis. _


End file.
